In recent years, hackers have become increasingly capable of attacking the world’s top companies. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, losses from cybercrime are projected to hit a massive annual cost of $10.5 trillion by 2025. So, it’s more important now than ever that cybersecurity graduates enter the workforce with a wealth of business and data knowledge to complement their technical acumen.
Over the last two decades, UTSA has been heralded as a global leader in producing accomplished cybersecurity professionals. In 2014, the university’s cybersecurity degree program was first deemed the best in the nation. UTSA is one of only a handful of universities to hold all three National Center of Excellence designations from the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security. In 2017, UTSA made history by becoming the first university to offer a fully online cyber degree, a program that has just been named one of the nation’s five best by Forbes.
Look beyond those accolades, and you’ll see that students pursuing a B.B.A. in Cyber Security at UTSA are getting an education that’s as broad as it is enduring. Many UTSA cybersecurity alumni are taking their robust skills to Fortune 500 companies like Accenture LLP. With more than 750,000 employees around the world, Accenture specializes in informational technology and consulting services in a number of areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and finance and risk management. In the U.S., Accenture Federal Services (AFS), a subsidiary of Accenture LLP, is the nation’s leading federal services company with a focus on defense, national security, health and public safety. Accenture is one of the top 30 employers of UTSA graduates, making them a key industry partner for the university.
“The work we do is important. We’re providing health care for the citizens of this country. We’re helping people with their taxes. There’s a lot that we do that touches everyone’s lives,” says Rachel Neuschaefer, campus and entry-level recruiting lead and senior recruiting manager for AFS.
Neuschaefer notes that because of this service mission, the people brought on board to join AFS must demonstrate several key skills beyond their technical aptitude. Those successful in the highly competitive candidate pool exhibit leadership skills, a passion for innovation, an interest in the public sector, the ability to solve problems and strong communication and interpersonal skills.
AFS is finding these qualities time and time again in UTSA’s students. In fact, 30% of the individuals who join the San Antonio and St. Louis AFS offices are UTSA graduates. Neuschaefer added that AFS had an 81% acceptance rate of UTSA students.
“I think we’ve worked really hard to build our brand and our name recognition amongst UTSA students,” she says.
It was at a UTSA career fair last fall where Jamal Hasty ’23 checked off all the qualities Accenture was looking for in an employee. Hasty was first hired by the firm to serve as a technology specialist for prepackage applications, but AFS quickly realized that he would flourish as a cyber program analyst, and he was given a promotion. In his new role, he works in risk compliance and encryption for his client, the U.S. Department of Energy.
“It’s pretty awesome getting to see how the government works from an energy standpoint and being part of making sure that things are protected from the outside,” Hasty says.
Hasty previously graduated from UTSA with a teaching degree in 2004, and for the next 19 years, he taught third- and fourth-graders for the Northside ISD in San Antonio. But in 2019, while chaperoning his elementary school’s student council at a UTSA STEM event, he found himself captivated by a cybersecurity presentation. That newfound interest never wavered.
“It kind of planted a seed in my head,” he says. “It made me think that maybe I should give cybersecurity a try.”
Over the next two years, Hasty took cybersecurity classes at Northwest Vista College before enrolling in the UTSA Online degree program in the summer of 2021 to pursue a B.B.A. in Cyber Security.
Not only did Hasty excel at his coursework, but he was involved in several beneficial programs. He served as the secretary for the UTSA Online Cyber Security Alliance for two years and interned as a cybersecurity analyst for B.E.A.T. LLC, a small San Antonio tech company that gave him the opportunity to apply the skills he’d developed at UTSA in a real-life setting.
He takes the most pride, however, in the work he did in the Najim Strategist program, which is part of UTSA’s Najim Center for Innovation and Career Advancement. The program gives UTSA students the opportunity to participate in team-based projects that create real solutions to issues facing San Antonio businesses. He worked with students from various disciplines to help The Pearl increase its employee retention rate and make more efficient uses of technology. And during his second experience in the program, he was part of a team that developed strategies to recruit more women and employees of color to positions at Union Pacific. Overall, he feels the program was a fitting precursor to his new profession.
“With the Najim Strategist projects, we were all coming from different backgrounds — whether it was cybersecurity, finance or software engineering. Even though we were all bringing something different to the table, we were able to work together toward the same goal.”
With the support of his professors, the Najim Center and the UTSA University Career Center, Hasty has launched his new career and feels assured that he’s found his calling.
“It’s a great feeling,” Hasty says. “I can see myself doing this for the next 20 to 30 years.”
I’ve always been so very impressed by you Jamal. All the best to you, with even more “best” to come!
Jamal’s story was very inspiring and we hope others can be inspired by it. Thanks for reading, Dr. Gambitta.